Secrets of an Heiress
by highonair435
Summary: Bella Swan is the girl who has everything. Her life seems perfect, but she holds a dark secret she's dying to tell someone. So she does. Pretty soon, word spreads, and Bella is in trouble. Will she be able to win the fight to save her life?
1. Chapter 1

**This is my fourth fanfic, but my third Twilight one. (God, the more fanfics I start the more it sounds less special. I've only finished one of them, but that was my Twilght oneshot. Moving on...) This fanfic is a little special because I come from South Florida, and these schools and the culture are 100% real to me. The cool thing about basing this story on real schools is that if you type in any of these schools names on google, you're sure to find the school website. ;]**

**Well, I hope you like it! **

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"Mom," I complained, looking down at my gown, "I look completely ridiculous."

"Bella, _ninita_," she smiled at me, pinching both my cheeks with the slightest of pressure, blood creeping up on my face, "you look darling. Now if you would stop fidgeting, I can get this dress perfect."

"More like ball gown," I muttered under my breath, low enough so she couldn't hear. My mom, Renee, sighed drastically, and then smoothed down the left strap on my dress for what seemed like the millionth time. I felt like a treasured diamond that had been polished far too many times.

"_Ahora_," she smiled, displaying two impeccable rows of snowy white teeth. "_Esta perfecta_. Meet me downstairs in five."

I sighed, exhaling in a long gust, a couple of strands escaping from my recently cut, smoothed down sidebangs, slightly obscuring the edges of my eyes. I plopped myself down on the queen sized bed, not caring at all if my yellow silk gown got ruined. It could rip apart for all that I cared. I wasn't obligated to going to the stupid party anyway. _Dance party_, I reminded myself, scowling.

It was a dance party. And I was modeling the intricate, expensive version of Belle's dress in The Beauty and the Beast.

I thought it was pointless, but my parents didn't seem to think so. They argued that it was black tie, so I had to wear something as ridiculous as this. Tonight would be a night like so many others I had gone through in the 17 years I had lived in Key Biscayne, all of my life. Charity events, soirées, get together, fundraisers; always going going going. It never seemed to stop.

I bounded down barefoot on the winding marble staircase, red, polished fingers brushing along the mahogany of the rails. Renee was already at the door, her own sleeveless black number tight fitted at the waist, the bottom flaring out gracefully, like individually cut lilies. My body would never look that perfect when I was thirty. I promised myself long ago that I would not be the rich, overly-spoiling housewife that spent all her day at the gym.

I kneeled down at the bottom step, grabbing the heel of my rhinestone encrusted, peep-toed pumps and sliding them onto my feet. My mother nodded, approving of my choice. As if it were my choice. If it was, I would be wearing Juicy slippers, not glittery Christian Louboutin heels.

I heard the klunk of my fathers black, newly polished Venice's waltzing into the room. As I raised my head up, Charlie gleamed with pride, clad in his prized Gucci tux. He was an elegantly dressed man; he always had been. It was both a pain and a pleasure. When we went vacationing in the summer, he wouldn't be caught dead wearing bulky, older imitations of gladiator sandals, as most embarrassing fathers did. I was grateful for that. But sometimes I felt like I was the unlucky contestant on American Idol who got picked on by Simon Nowell. He eyed me carefully, nodding. Approving. The one time I desperately wanted him to tell me to change, he accepted my outfit. Lord help me.

"Are you ready?" he asked smoothly, already holding his posture correctly for the public, back arched ever so slightly.

"Let's go," I said with a grimace. Renee smiled, and grasped the knob from one of four of the grand, expensive double doors that surrounded the house.

When we arrived at some loaded Latin starlet's mansion, people were already waiting. They didn't crowd the Royce like we were celebrities, but they waited patiently by the front yard, looking at us from the corner of their eyes. Whereas on the streets of Miami Beach, people would crowd my father for an autograph. As if they were trying to prove that they were important. Typical.

When we got inside, my father was finally greeted. I smiled in relief when I saw the back of a familiar, black silken mane. Maybe I could endure this party after all. But it wasn't who I thought it was, as the man turned around.

"Billy!" my dad grinned, giving him his brother hug; laying off the reserved firm shake he gave all others.

"Hey, man," he laughed, running a hand through his sleek black hair. I looked around Billy, looking for a sign of him, but I got none.

"No, Bella, Jacob's not here," he said knowingly, noticing the frantic, and quite frankly, desperate way I looked for something to make this party the slightest bit enjoyable. My lower lip jutted out a bit. I nodded at him, lowering my head. Charlie patted me on the back.

"Why don't you go talk to those kids over there? They look new," he murmured in my ear, gesturing to a corner where a whole bunch of other people my age were hanging out, standing around and talking. I hesitated.

"Dad? Are you serious? How am I going to talk to them?" I asked, panicked. I hated when this happened. My dad always wanted to get me involved, always wanted me to know the most people. Like I could carry on my mothers socialite tradition. Like I _wanted_ to.

"You'll find a way. Come on, go enjoy yourself."

I sighed, and shook my head, turning away from him and Billy to get a peek at them.

They were standing around, not appearing to be saying anything to each other. There was a blond boy with hard, handsome features, sitting down in his seat, fiddling his fingers. He was staring at the wall with a pained expression, looking like he was constipated. I recognized he was wearing a tux from the new Prada Spring Collection, that had yet to come out. There was other one with dark curls that was definitely the largest, sporting a YSL tux, by the looks of it. He looked like he spent a quality of his time at the gym.

Next to them, close enough to be signified as part of the same group, were a pair of girls. One had pretty, sprite-like face, with short, bouncy black curls. She looked exactly the same height as the blond girl next to her, but that could be only because she was wearing a pair of dangerously high silver Rox Gina's, which were high in demand at the moment. She wore an elegant, flowery red dress that ended right above her ankles, definitely a Ralph Lauren evening gown. The other girl looked exactly what I would have pictured Barbie to look in real life, with drop-dead gorgeous features that would make a supermodel cry. She had on a tight-fitting satin silver Max Azria cocktail dress that would have exposed any trace of fat on her, if she had any. To top it all off, she modeled violet Rottura Manolo Blahniks. I was more intimidated than ever.

"Go on," Charlie encouraged, pushing me forwards. I sighed, and progressed closer. When my dad acted like this, the situation was inevitable. I arched my back, jutted my chin up, and tried not to make too much noise as my signature, red-soled Lou's clacked along the floor.

They noticed my entrance, because they closed up in rank. The girl with the short black curls and the unusually tall Gina's stepped forwards. I gulped, and then began to talk.

"Hi," I started, "My name's Bella Swan. I haven't seen you around at events before. Are you guys new?"

The girl smiled. "Well, me and my brothers moved in last week from Seattle. We're new to the bay. My name's Alice Cullen, by the way. Nice to meet you." Her ocean blue eyes seemed to sparkle. She stuck out her hand in the short space we had in between us. I shook it.

"Let me introduce you to my oldest brother, Emmett." She gestured to the curly-haired boy who looked like he was on steroids. I smiled weakly at him, and he grinned back, displaying two dimples on his cheeks. This little revelation made me a bit less scared of him.

"Hey," I managed to say. He beamed even wider. I turned back to Alice to divert myself away from his blinding smile.

"My twin brother is in the bathroom, but he should be back soon," she announced perkily at me.

Then I looked at the blond girl, the one who looked like a Barbie bought to life. She had striking Grey eyes, the kind that bore into everything she set them on.

"My name's Rosalie Hale, and that's my younger brother, Jasper." She inclined her head to gesture at the other blond boy—he looked much like her strikingly so, I hadn't noticed before—who tried to melt away his mask of pain and grin weakly at me.

"We're not new to Miami, but we're new to the society. Our dad re-married to a heiress," Rosalie explained, "The Cullen's are our new neighbors."

"Do you guys go to La Salle?" I asked Rosalie. I hadn't seen the siblings around at the school, and surely I would of noticed them. ILS was a big school, but I got used to the repetition of faces, about to become a junior there and all. I would have _never_ missed a face as doll-like as Rosalie's. But maybe they did. The start of the school year was in three short days, so they could have transferred also. She confirmed my thought.

"Jasper and I went to MAST Academy last year, but Natasha, our stepmom, wouldn't let us live unless we transferred." Rosalie rolled her eyes at me. I giggled.

"And are you guys going there too? Or are you at MAST?" I asked Alice. If Alice went to La Salle, there was a slight possibility of me making friends. The only person I was "acquaintances" with was freaking Jessica Stanley, an annoying, stuck up girl who used me to get good grades. If I did her homework, then I was allowed to sit at her table with her and her popular friends. It wasn't really a plus, since they made fun of me all of the time. I was sick of it.

"We had to fly our butts down here in January from Seattle just to take the entrance exam to transfer, but yeah, we're going to La Salle too. We just bought the uniforms last week.

"You guys are going to love the school, it's great," I grinned. Alice's blue eyes twinkled.

"At least I'll know someone well enough on the first day of school," she laughed. I felt a small smile creeping along the edges of my lips. The divine possibility of me not having to do Jessica's homework or putting up with her crap was getting bigger. My smirk became a smile.

"Who's this, Alice?" inquired a soft voice behind behind me, quite close to me actually. I whirled around.

He had a peculiar shade of bronze colored hair that looked like it had been combed, but it was slightly tousled. He held no expression of interest in his features, but even emotionless, it was obvious that his face was flawless. Atop of all of these things, he had emerald green eyes that bore a hundred times deeper into me than Rosalie's had.

He was beautiful.

"Bella, this is Edward, my twin brother," she stated as-a-matter-of-factly. I forced myself to smile weakly, extending my arm. He smirked at me, taking my hand and shaking it.

"Nice to meet you," I said politely.

"You too," he said with that same irristable smirk glued to his face. He let our hands fall, and I hadn't even realized it was burning. I felt like my palm was on fire.

"Bella?" Edward asked quizzically, a peculiar expression crossing his face, "Swan?" I nodded.

"Isn't your dad the T.V. Show host for Call on Charlie?" he asked a little uncertainly. I frowned.

"Yeah, that's him. Do we look that much alike?" So much that people guessed who my _father_ was because of my last name?

"You look a lot like him," he accentuated with a grin. I forced myself to smile back at him. I didn't like it that I looked a whole lot like my dad. It only made my cover that much harder to keep. It seemed like whenever I met someone knew, they automatically knew my dad was famous. It was creepy.

I felt Alice's gaze shooting laser beams into my side, demanding my attention. I tilted my head towards her to get a peek at her expression. She was frowning.

"What's wrong?"

"When does the party start?" she asked, the grimace also prominent in her voice. I shrugged.

At that moment, as if called on cue, a group of people started to tap their glasses with the edges of their forks, pleading everyone to be quiet. The crowd fell silent. People started looking around towards the general direction of the noise. A deeply tanned, skinny Hispanic woman with silky black hair and striking features opened her mouth to display a set of impossibly white teeth. She held a microphone in her left hand, and with her right, she placed it on the hip of her long, flowing, forest green Grecian-esque gown. She couldn't be anyone other than Ariella Santalo; the famous and ridiculously rich young latin singer.

"Before we begin with the party, I would like to make a couple of acknowledgments. First of all, I would like to thank Ricky and everyone else at _Univision_ for their great support. I don't know if I would be here without you." People started clapping, and I caught a couple of wolf-whistles. I kept my eyes on her face. "Second of all, my family and friends, who are also here tonight. Thanks for throwing me the best birthday party ever," she beamed. More clapping.

So it was a _birthday_ party. I knew I had caught a lot of young faces in the crowd. I hoped that because she was still so young—she had to be in her mid twenties or so—they would play music from the current century.

Ariella wrapped up her acknowledgments quickly, and then the party began. People began to slightly sway to the intoxicating beat of "Azucar", the signature work by Celia Cruz, the queen of salsa. Alice's face lit up in excitement, but then it fell quickly. I looked at her in confusion.

"What's wrong?" I asked curiously.

"It's just... I can't dance to salsa music," she admitted. I laughed.

"It's easy, come on I'll show you!" I had to shout over the music, but I thought she heard me. I grabbed her hand and took her to the dance floor. Edward, Emmett, and the Hale twins trailed after us, desperate for any excuse to turn this party fun. Alice smiled at me sheepishly.

Jasper and Rosalie began to dance with eachother, twirling around to the beat. The Cullen's stared at them with awed expressions on their faces, mixed with confused ones.

I showed each of them step by step, and they eventually got it. I had to admit, it was a little funny seeing Emmett and Edward trying to dance, since they were guys and all. Most guys at dance parties hung to the wall, or the bar, avoiding the party until it came to the slow dances. But they got it the hang of it too.

All that played at the party was never-ending salsa and regatton, but everyone seemed to be content with it. Alice was amazed when I told her that girls could pair up and dance with other girls, and when guys wanted to dance with girls, it was never nearly as awkward and as subtle as a slow dance.

All in all, the party was way more fun than I expected it to be. I got to know the Cullen's and the Hales, and we talked a lot. I saw Emmett eying Rosalie, and he even had the courage to ask her to dance to "_La Negra Tiene Tumbao." _Alice's face lit up when she saw the both of them dancing, and she grabbed my arm and shook it excitedly. Edward and Jasper made it a point to ignore them, and started talking about football behind us. I was mostly ignoring the conversation, until I picked up the fact that Edward played.

"You play football?" I asked quizzically as I turned away from watching Rosalie and Emmett dancing. He nodded.

"I played Varsity with Emmett as a sophomore in my old school. Number one in the state," he grinned. My eyes widened.

"Tryouts are this week, I think. You and Emmett would be great for the team. We need really good players," I said with a serious look on my face. Our football team didn't suck, but we needed more strength on Varsity. Our school's guys weren't as buffed up as the guys from Columbus, one of the two all boys schools that were in Miami; the school that Jacob went to. With a little luck, we could rank in the top 25 of the district.

"Isn't your school ranked number one in Florida?" he asked, confused.

"We used to be, a long time ago. But it's impossible to get our title back," I frowned. I wasn't around when they held their title. All I knew that Once Upon A Time, long long ago, Immaculata La Salle High School ranked number one in the state. It was a nearly forgotten memory now.

"Why?" he demanded. I sighed, and I heard Jasper exhale. Even transferring from a magnet school like MAST with a limited sports program, he wasn't clueless.

"The number one school in our state is St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale, and they're _brutal_. They aren't just number one in the state, but they're number one in the _country_," I couldn't help but talk about the school in reverence. They dominated in sports all around. Last year we suffered a defeat of 74 to 0, and the scary part was, everyone expected such a bad loss. We knew we would be thwarted. Edward didn't flinch, which surprised me. Apparently, Edward had never seen an Aquinas boy. I could of sworn that with the size they were, they had to all be on steroids.

"Imagine a football field full of Emmett's," I offered. He grimaced, but then shook his head and smirked.

"They sound a little rough, but it's not impossible to beat them," he scoffed. He was insane. I just shook my head at him.

"You have _no_ freaking idea how good they are. They killed us last year 74 to zip, and we didn't have a bad team."

"Dude, seriously," Jasper said, shaking his head. "There's no chance."

Edward kept that cocky smirk plastered on his face. "We'll see about that."

I rolled my eyes, and Jasper sighed again. "Crazy," I muttered, low enough to pass for mouthing. Jasper nodded, agreeing.

I was a little sad when my dad pulled me away to leave, because I was having fun for once. I pecked Rosalie and Jasper on the cheeks, saying goodbye. They would be used to the South Floridian gesture, but I wasn't so sure about the Cullen's. I waved at Emmett and Edward, and I hugged Alice. They waved at me as I strode along with Charlie and Renee.

When we were in the parking lot, the most peculiar thing happened.

It was about four cars down on the other side, in the bushes. I heard a little rustling noise of something moving inside of them, and I looked around to see what was causing the disruptance.

I was met by a pair of black eyes as dark as night, glinting eerily in the moonlight, glaring coldly at me. The gaze could only be described as that of pure hatred, and it caused me to shiver as I opened the door to the Rolls.

_It's probably just some random hobo_, I thought. Nothing more. Probably trying to scourge some food out of Ariella's bash. But the word that the mysterious person uttered lowly, only picked up by my sensitive ears, was enough to send a pang of fear through my heart.

"Soon," the creature promised in a dead monotone, sounding as lifeless as a piece of metal. The word held no threatening meaning to it, but it sent shivers through my spine, and it made my hairs stand up on end. I climbed shakily into the car, and slammed the door roughly, heart still pounding. _Okay, a hobo who's gone insane_.

I thought that it was just a freaky coincidence, that it was just some weird person. I thought it could probably be a guy who wasn't mentally sound. I thought that it wouldn't happen again. That it _couldn't _happen again. I thought that was the end of it.

But it was only the beginning.

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**Ooh, scary. Well, I didn't want to bore you with the party, so I decided to throw in a hint of what's approaching in the chapters to come. And please review. Feel free to throw flames at me, I appreciate any chance to make my writing better. It doesn't matter if you have an account on FF or if you don't, I also accept anonymous reviews. :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm on the lookout for a beta-reader for this story, so if you are one, please PM me! Thanks! :D**

**Wow! Seriously, I can't believe I got 12 reviews for the first chapter only. You guys are amazing!**

**This chapter is dedicated to; ThisIsMyDisguise, emoBella, Miss C. Cullen, Warla, anne kingsmill, TwilightMyLove, masochisticlamb, Margiii, totallyanon, LadyAliceCullen, AliceCullen, and Sapphire Mizu. You just made my day! ^^**

**Now, on with the chapter. :]**

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I parked my silver Z4 into the student parking lot with only minutes to spare. I sighed in relief when I caught a parking space within view of the cafeteria, and not near the deep blue ocean, where I always parked. I stopped the engine, and grabbed my Juicy book bag from the passenger, swinging it over my shoulder and jogging into the school, my heavy leather oxfords clunking against the pavement. I stuffed my keys into my tan Bermudas, smoothing down the collar of my yellow polo embroidering the words "Immaculata La Salle" on the left hand side. I heard the jingle of my silver Pandora charm bracelet as I ran across the parking lot, and running through the outdoor wings. My homeroom teacher was Mr. Casablanca, the Pre-calculus math teacher for juniors, who I heard was pretty rough. _Pre-calculus_, I repeated in my head. I skidded to a stop.

I groaned. The math wing was on the right hand side of the cafeteria, all the way on the other side of the school. I had been running in the wrong direction. At this rate, I was never going to make it on time. I slid to a halt, and started scrambling the other way. I caught a pair of sophomores snickering at me as they entered their English classroom, pointing and giggling for the full effect. I rolled my eyes, and just kept on sprinting. I had gotten so accustomed to being a social outcast that when people singled me out and made fun of me; I forgot to care. I didn't have it in me to act embarrassed.

I eventually reached the math wing, around two minutes after the late bell had rung. I entered with my chocolate colored hair completely winded, and panting like a dog. People stared, but didn't say anything. The slightly heavyset middle-aged teacher looked outraged, a wild set to his mouth that warned me to get ready for a loud scolding. It looked like I had interrupted an important lecture.

"And you are?" he inquired, a shaky tone piercing his voice. His stormy grey eyes demanded answers.

"Bella Swan," I answered, cringing the slightest at his glare.

"Well, Miss Swan, I don't want to know what you excuse is, so don't waste your time telling me. I'll let it slide this time, but the next time you're late, there are going to be consequences."

I nodded, and his face softened the slightest bit. I exhaled in a gust. It was over. I scanned the room for availability of seating, and I eventually spotted a seat all the way in the left-hand corner. My eyes scanned over the familiar faces near my arranged seat, and I groaned internally. To the front was booger-picking Brian and to my right, Pothead Pete. My grades were sure to flunk from those two distractions. I sulked, and dragged my feet over to the only table left.

"Actually, no. Jessica, switch with Bella," he ordered, stubbing a finger at Jessica, who gave out the loudest moan I had heard in my life. When she was passing, she bumped into me. Hard. I staggered a bit, and I caught a couple of sniggers at my fall. I ignored them, waltzing to my new desk in the center of the room. When I sat down, I jumped at the sound of the person next to me.

"Hey, Bella!" a soprano voice said lightly. I snuck a peek.

"Alice Cullen?" I confirmed, staring at her with my mouth slightly ajar. Her hair was sticking out and frizzing unattractively in a lot of places, a bold step for someone as girly as Alice. She gave out a tinkling laugh, and nodded. She began to speak.

"This school is so unbelievably huge; it's like that school on Zoey 101. You know I had to spend thirty minutes looking for the math wing?" she complained. I smirked.

"It shows. Your hairs a mess." She exhaled in a huff. I could tell her jet black hair was set to be spiky, but because of the humidity, it looked like an afro. That was the only flaw in a high school as enormous and outdoorsy as this, the humidity was bound to attack your hair if you stayed out too long. If you stayed out enough in between classes or during your free period, the humidity Miami was notorious for was inevitable. Alice was the perfect example of a tourist not doing her research.

"It's supposed to be like this. Ten people told me the same thing today." She rolled her eyes.

"An afro?" I inquired. Her eyes went wide.

"No! Are you serious?" Two tiny hands flew to her hair as she tried desperately to do something to it. I turned around to rummage in my book bag.

"Here," I offered, handing her my spare bottle. "It's de-frizzing serum. You need it more than I do. Take my _liga_ too." I rolled out my black _liga_ from my wrist, and plopped it into her hand.

"_Liga_?" she asked curiously, as she closed it into her hand.

"Uh..." I looked for the right word in English. "Scrunchie, sorry. I'm used to saying _liga_."

"I'll keep that in mind," she smiled. Her two blazing rows of white teeth were almost blinding.

I turned back to face the teacher as the class quieted down. He was back at the center-front of the room after dealing with some files at his desk. People sighed, and slumped down into their chairs. No one wanted to let their summer vacation go.

He lectured on his syllabus and classroom rules, lulling everyone to sleep with his lifeless voice. I stifled a total of 21 yawns during the 45-minute period, a record. I usually paid attention. Near the end of it, though, I heard a hiss coming from the seat next to me.

"Give me your schedule," Alice whispered. I peered cautiously at Mr. Casablanca to make sure he wasn't paying any close attention to me, and I nodded. I slipped it out from my Hot Chocolate binder pocket. I aimed down low, looking straight at Mr. Casablanca. Alice accepted the notion, and did the same. She caught the schedule from under her desk. She didn't say anything to me until the period was over.

The bell rang, shrill and demanding. I caught a few laughs when the teacher was cut off by the bell, and I was guilty of smiling a bit too. Alice and I waltzed out of the classroom gratefully.

"What do you have next?" she asked as soon as we were outdoors. I winced as we came out of the shadow of the staircase and walked straight into the blinding sunlight.

"I wouldn't know. You have my schedule," I reminded her.

"Right," she laughed, and extracted my schedule from her notebook, the flap of the pages crisply falling open to the page where it lied.  
"Here it is. It looks like I have... P.E... And you have English. Bummer," she frowned, handing me my schedule to keep while she closed her notebook. I sighed.

"P.E's normally held at the track field, but on the first day your best bet is the Gym, near the media center," I directed while we were walking. I stopped when the pavement branched out into seven separate lanes at the Immaculata Brother Grandfather Oak. The Immaculata Brother tree stood for the heart of the school for as long as I could remember. Everyone suspected that it was first planted here when the Immaculata La Salle brothers from a Catholic convent in Cuba decided to make a residence here. When we stood under it, the temperature immediately dropped 10 or so degrees. I pointed at the lane that led to the gym.

"Thanks, Bella!" She called as she walked to her next class, and I took my separate route. "It's great to know at least one person here is nice," I heard her mutter under her breath, caught by my ears before she stalked off completely.

I knew what she meant. Kids at La Salle weren't exactly... friendly. Most of the students brushed off newcomers. As it was, there were only two transfers I knew of that had taken place this year. It was extremely hard to get into La Salle freshman year as it was. The only possible way there could have been room for transfer students was if someone left. But what parent in their right mind would want to make their child leave, when 87% of the students made it into Ivy League schools?

When I entered my English class, early, my eyes locked on a familiar blonde face.

"Hey, Jasper," I greeted as I went along to look for a seat. Traditionally, all the guys crammed into one side of the room as always, which left me to fend for my own.

English class flew by quickly, because Mr. Alegron let us on our own to do whatever we wanted for thirty minutes. He passed around the syllabuses near the end of class for us to bring home and get it signed.

In History, P.E, and Theology, I experienced the longest lectures of my life. Straight up forty-five minute long lectures. By the end of Theology, I had fallen asleep a total of four times. Only when I stepped outside into the bright sunlight did I really realize how tired I was, because I woke up. I stopped dragging my feet, and walked briskly into the cafeteria.

I felt someone poke me on the side, and I waited for the giggles to signify the presence of Jessica Stanley or her sidekick for all intents and purposes, the blonde-haired, icy eyed Lauren Mallory. When I didn't hear them, I turned around curiously to see who it was.

"Hey, Bella," Alice said brightly, cutting behind me in line. I grinned.

"How was P.E? Did Coach Reyes make you fall asleep?"

"Ugh," she groaned, bringing her short curly black ponytail around to her shoulder. It looked like my liga had been put to good use. "The only way I stood awake was because of the people snoring around me."

"Nice," I grinned.

"Anyway, have you had any classes with Edward? Because I've only had him for English."

"Nope, not yet, but I have had English with Jasper. Why?" I inquired. She started snickering as the lunch lady handed us our food.

"That's a good thing. You'll see why in about... seven seconds. Let's go get a table," she giggled. I gave her a weird look, but otherwise ignored her comment.

We sat down at the only empty table in the far right of the room. From the corner of my eyes, I saw the pointing. With my ears, I heard the whispering. But I didn't have it in me to care.

I heard the collection of gasps as the doors swung open, letting hot air pour into the air-conditioned cafeteria. Alice smirked at me, and nodded. As if I knew what that meant.

I heard whispers fiercer than before, and this time I knew it wasn't about me. I couldn't be the source of that much gossip.

Alice raised her polished fingertips in the air, waving, signaling someone to come. I spun my chair around at a ninety-degree angle.  
There stood Jasper and Edward in the doorway. Jasper looked panicked, his eyes darting frantically across the room. Edward was the opposite, he looked completely comfortable and at ease. By the way, that all the girls stood in front of Jasper and started to gape like fish, I could only guess that he was looking for something that was not foreign to him. I recognized Jessica and her entire crew crowding them.

It was Jasper who spotted Alice's hand poised in the air. He nudged Edward on the arm and started strolling towards our table. At the speed that he was pacing, I could only guess that he was in a hurry. Edward, who was casting eager smiles at the girls, travelled glumly along with him.

I was laughing quietly the whole time, the entire ordeal seemed hilarious to me for some strange reason. As people eventually realized that Edward and Jasper were inevitably headed towards our table, we started to get curious, overly anticipated looks instead of hardcore glares.  
Edward slid in next to me, and Jasper sat in front of him, next to Alice. Jasper cussed under his breath. Alice, for once, didn't say anything, and she just dug into her food. Something told me not to speak up, but it was hard not to. After ten seconds of unbearable silence, I decided to say something.

"Can someone tell me what just happened there?" I demanded. Jasper looked at me with an exasperated expression, and just kept on eating. Edward was kind enough to turn his head towards me and speak up.

"It was nothing, really. Just, the entire day, those same group of girls keep on stalking us. It's starting to annoy the hell out of Jasper, but I really don't mind," he grinned arrogantly.

"Do you know how cocky you sound right now?" I teased.

"Hey, in my defense, I'm single," he insisted. I rolled my eyes.

"Sure, whatever."

"Have you guys had P.E. yet?" Alice inquired. Jasper nodded glumly, his eyes looking like they were ghosting past to replay a memory. By the looks of it, it wasn't a very memorable one.

"I have P.E. Tomorrow, not today. Did you do anything fun?" Alice and I scoffed.

"Coach Reyes gave us a full-period lecture. Good luck trying not to fall asleep," Alice retorted. I giggled.

The rest of lunch went by rather quickly. Somewhere along the line of conversation, Alice started to talk to Jasper, while I kept another subject alive with Edward. During the hour-long lunch period, I discovered that Edward's late dog was named Toby, that he went to an all-boys boarding school in Canada for middle school, that his favorite movie was Napoleon Dynamite, and that he and Alice got into a really bad—bloody--fistfight when they were ten.

When the bell rang, we both jumped up in surprise, and I laughed at the startled look on his face.

"The bell rings louder in the cafeteria than it does anywhere else in the school. The kids get very easily distracted," I explained. He shook his head, trying to dispel his caught-off-guard expression. Alice and Jasper stood up gracefully from the chairs, headed towards the trash with their trays. I followed their lead, while Edward trailed after me.

"What class do you have next?" Edward asked as soon as we dumped our food into the trash, and set the green trays on top of the garbage cans.

"Biology. You?" We walked towards the cafeteria doors.

"Biology," he grinned, throwing his book bag over his shoulder. We started to walk in a straight direction towards the science wing.

"Are you getting lost yet?" I inquired. He smirked.

"I've gotten lucky. Look, the wings almost follow the order of my schedule. History, Math, Theology, English," he paused, and then pointed to two other buildings. "Those are the media center and gym, so they don't count. I had to go past the seven-lane direction of Immaculata Oak to get to the fine arts building, next to the auditorium. And then here's the science wing," he laughed as we approached closer to the stairs. The science wing was immediately on the left side of the cafeteria, so we didn't walk that far.

"Nice," I complimented.

"I got a little help from a few friends," he chuckled. I rolled my eyes, getting the message. I could almost picture Jessica hanging around Edward like a sick puppy, craving for any excuse to talk to him. It was so pathetic.

We stalked up the stairs, walking up to the second floor. Freshman and sophomore classes were on the first floor, while Junior and Senior classes were held on the second. With the massive size of each of the wings, there were enough classrooms for each elective also.  
"Room 201," I announced as we reached the first door on the right hand side. I turned the knob.

"Hey, kids. Take a seat," the man said from his desk. He motioned towards the long rows of lab tables that were available for seating. There was no one in sight. I made my way across the classroom and sat down in one of the tables in the second row. I placed my book bag on the floor, since the chairs in the biology classroom were stools. I had to admit, I was a little surprised when Edward sat next to me.  
"What, so you aren't going to wait for Jessica?" I asked. He furrowed his eyebrows.

"Who's Jessica?" he asked, the velvety folds in his voice low and rough.

"A bit short, dark curls..." he shook his head, not quite getting the message yet. "You know, the _chonga_ who's been stalking you?" His face lightened up in acknowledgements at my last words, and he nodded.

"Right, Jessica. No, I would rather not wait for her to choose me as a lab partner, unless I want my grades to drop," he chuckled. I laughed, and his emerald eyes twinkled, questioning mine.

"What's a _chonga_? Just so I know," he smirked. I grinned.

"A s-l-u-t," I said lowly, turning my head away from the teacher so he wouldn't hear. Edward chuckled.

"That explains it then," he reasoned.

The door swung open from the front of the room, next to the teacher's desk. He gave the students the same greeting he gave us, eyes still focused on a stack of papers he was working on. Students came trickling in slowly into the classrooms, and pretty soon, it was completely occupied. The teacher began his class.

His name was Mr. Varner, and it was his first year teaching at La Salle. He worked at a small school in Washington State for four years before finding a position here. He had been planning on transferring to Miami anyway, because his sister lived here.

He let us play a game of introducing ourselves, so he could learn our names. With each person that went, the next one needed to repeat the name of the other person. It was easy, because we all knew each other. But I guessed it would be hard for Mr. Varner, which was the point. He would stop us at times to ask us questions about ourselves, which kept it from being boring.

I was surprised when Edward's turn came around. He hesitated a bit in repeating people's names, but he had them down.

"I take it you're new, Edward?" Mr. Varner asked after he finished, leaning back on his desk. So far, I liked the guy, he didn't bore us with trite first-day lectures.

"Yeah, and I actually transferred from Seattle this year," he smiled weakly. The teacher perked up curiously.

"Did you ever hear of a school called Forks High?" he inquired. Edward processed the name in his brain for a second, and then he relaxed.

"Yeah, my football team played them one time," he answered.

"Interesting..." he trailed off, continuing to the next table.

When we were done, we only had around three minutes left of class. He went to his desk, and started to pass out the syllabuses.

"Your homework tonight is to read this over and get it signed by your parents," the bell rang, and people started to collect their things, "You're dismissed," he finished.

I rose, picking up my pink Juicy book bag from the floor and slinging it across my shoulder. Edward did the same.

"Well, that was fun," he chuckled.

"Did you get everyone's name down?" I quizzed.

"Nope," his lips popped on the 'p', "I forgot them all when I finished."

"Good for you," I grinned. We went to the parking lot.

"Edward!" A voice called from behind me. I turned around, and my eyes strayed to a quirky-looking Alice. She was jogging up to us with Emmett next to her. Jasper and Rosalie tagged along behind them.

"Whadd'ya know? Edward Cullen survived the rampage of the La Salle fan girls," Emmett boomed noisily, and started laughing. Edward growled.

"Shut up, Emmett," he said menacingly. He started stalking towards his car somewhere in the parking lot.

"I drive, little bro," he laughed even louder than before.

"It's my car," he said with acid in his tone.

"Yeah, but I'm a senior. I get special privileges," he grinned maniacally. Edward huffed.

"Fine," he surrendered.

It was funny to watch the whole dilemma. Jasper, Rose, and I started cracking up, while Alice kept her arms crossed, waiting for the argument to end. Eventually it did.

"Well, bye guys, I need to head home," I waved at them, heading towards my own car. Alice hugged me, and let me go after three seconds.

"Bye, Bella. And thanks for everything," she smiled appreciatively. Everyone else threw around their goodbyes, and then I was off.

This year's outlook was better than ever.

* * *

**So, how was it? Thank you again to all of you who reviewed, I really appreciate it, and I would like to know what else you think. So for those of you who haven't done so already, Review! :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**Yeah, I know it's a bit late, but here it is. Writer's block + Being grounded = Endless rewrites on lined paper. Typing everything down from my illegible handwriting = Disaster. If you're a mess like me, you would know. ;)**

**I dedicate this chapter to: ThisIsMyDisguise, Generated Anomoly, totallyanon, Miss C. Cullen, LadyAliceCullen, caitlin-m-burke, anne kingsmill, aridarkprincess, and Heavens Archer. You guys rock!**

**Special shout out to: Caitlin-m-burke. I just finished On Location and I'm frigging in LOVE with Austin. He's almost as awesome as Fang from Maximum Ride! :D**

**Read on :)**

I grumbled at Alice's unusually perky mood. By unusually perky, I meant way more perky than usual.

As we rode in her Porsche into school that Saturday morning, I had a clear idea why.

It was the only reason why I would even risk being caught dead wearing tan convertible tights up to my knees over black spankies and my Sophomore class shirt-- a sight no one had yet to see.

_Flashback:_

"_No."_

_I waited for her to react again. "But come on! Be-lla!" she whined. I felt the exhaustion pooling up again, and my eye twitched with an automatic reaction._

"_There is no way I'm trying out for the dance team. Sorry," I said coldly, completely unwavering._

_Alice huffed. "You didn't want to do cheerleading, you don't want to do theater, you won't do choir . . . can you give me an activity we can both do together?"_

"_I already told you. I play volleyball," I replied. She groaned._

"_But I'm not good at volleyball! I'm only good at dancing, singing, and acting. Please, please, please, please, PLEASE?"_

"_No." We were back to the start of our conversation._

"_Okay then, give me a reason why not." she suggested, taking up my cold expression now._

_That question hit me hard. I frantically tried to think of an excuse. "Uhh... because... Because I don't dance."_

_She scoffed. "Please... you're the one who taught me how to dance to Gloria Estefan. Don't give me that crap."_

_I surrendered. The argument was getting unnecessarily annoying. "Fine, I'll try out. But if I don't make it, you don't get to make me do anything else. Clear?"_

_Alice beamed brightly, looking like she was trying to contain herself. "Yes ma'am!"_

_I groaned as I watched her skip to her next class. What had I gotten myself into?_

_End Flashback_

I mumbled incoherently as I saw the horde of dancers flood the conservatory from the parking lot. I had no experience whatsoever in dance, and she expected me to do better than some of the kids here, who all dance for Miami City Ballet. As if that wasn't intimidating enough.

"Alice--" I began, for the seventh time in the short car-ride. As short as a car-ride can be in a Porsche, that is.

"Don't start; you agreed to this. And who knows? It might even be fun." she snapped, but softened up at the end. I couldn't help but read the excitement in her voice over the whole ordeal, and that pleaded with me to go on. My lips twisted as I pondered, and then I shrugged.

"Okay, fine. Though no one knows about the tryouts except you and me?"

"Ahuh. And the girls here will find out soon enough."

As we climbed from the car, only a handful of girls eyed me in speculation. I didn't mind it because, I knew, they weren't being mean or anything. I was friendly with last year's Captain, Kimberly Rodriguez, and a couple of other dancers. They were the only clique in school that was anti-cheerleader besides the goths; and they weren't afraid to stand up to them-- unlike the goths. More points for not being so anti-social and to themselves.

"Bella, you're trying out?" someone called from the doorway. I smiled when I saw her face.

"Angie!" I greeted as I watched her do a stand-split against the wall. If I did that, I would probably break my knee in a futile attempt.

"Wow, Bella. You actually look like a dancer. Good for you," she laughed, taking in my outfit. My eyes widened as she went from doing a standing split against the wall to going on _Pointe _while doing a standing split against the wall. How was that even possible??

I knew Angela Webber from a couple of political parties freshman year when her father ran to replace a councilman of the Miami city council, which he lost. The society hadn't been affiliated with him since then—they only cared about you if _you_ mattered. Still, we had kept friendly since then. I introduced Angela to Alice, and they carried off conversation immediately.

Twenty minutes later, the doors opened to the conservatory as people flooded in. I had to push my way into a line to enter. What happened next scared me even more; they made us pin _numbers_ onto our shirts. Like a real audition!

They really took this stuff seriously, didn't they?

Once we were in the first room of the conservatory, we saw a middle-aged man standing in the center, eyeing us carefully. There were three women around him with pen and paper in hand, so I only guessed they were here to evaluate us. The room quieted as people recognized the man's presence. I fidgeted with my number on my shirt.

"Buenos dias, todomundo. My name is Senor Guerra. For those of you who do not know me you will have to grow accustomed to my Spanish accent, if you haven't noticed it already.

"Today we're going to start off with some warm-up exercises, and then move on into a modern dance routine. After I teach you the dance, you're going to move to the corner of the room and present the technique in groups. After the first evaluation, those who remain will move on with me. Is that clear?"

Murmurs of agreement flooded the large room in an echo as the audition began.

EPOV

Ready... set... HIKE!

My muscles tensed as I prepared to spring on the wide receiver, who held the ball in position. Sweat matted my temples from the pressure of the small helmet, in turn giving me an excruciating headache. But, at the moment, my mind was focused on only one thing.

I roared through my clenched teeth as I knocked the guy down, ball falling on the field, dead. I took a deep breath as I braced myself for the cluster of players that threw themselves on me, like white on rice.

As it was, I barely heard the coach whistle to bring in the subs. I relaxed. The weight of the other guys came off easy, the fresh air almost unwelcome and foreign to me. I jogged to the bleachers, taking my helmet off before I sat down.

The grey haired coached walked up to me as the subs took their position on the field for the scrimmage. I unfastened the lid on my bottle and took a drag of water as he approached.

"What's your name, son?" he asked fiercely, jabbing his pen at me.

"Edward Cullen," I responded, short and tense. He didn't need to hear me out of breath.

"Ah, you and the big guy are related, right? Emmett Cullen?"

"Yes sir." I replied like a salute.

"I'm just wondering, why didn't you try out for the team before?"

I smiled. This was a chance for him to take me and Emmett into Varsity. "Well, we used to live in Seattle, my brother and I. We played for Weston Academy before we moved down here."

His eyes widened, but he otherwise tried to remain level-headed. I could almost hear his brain whirring with stuff like, "_Best in state championship," "Second ranked in Northern Nationals..._" He scribbled something on his notepad quickly, and nodded tersely at me. "I need you on offense. I want you playing running back when I call in subs, is that understood?"

"Yes, sir," I saluted. He retreated back to the field to begin the scrimmage. I sighed, and sat down once more on the bleachers, trying to wipe some sweat away with a spare towel.

I watched Emmett destroy everyone that was in the way of his run to the touchdown. I flinched when I remembered he was my brother. God, he was a beast. Every player fell to the side of the field like pins hit by an insanely speedy—and heavy—bowling ball. Emmett even managed to get some people who weren't near him to run away.

"Well done!" the coach applauded. I hated referring him in my mind as coach. Coach just sounded so _formal_. We would call the coach on my team Reggie, his first name. He had a very personal relationship with our team, and that was one of the reasons we were the best.

Yesterday, I looked up La Salle football on Google, and groaned when I realized that Bella wasn't joking about "Needing strength on Varsity". La Salle ranked in the top ten WORST independent schools in Miami-- ranked between Belen Jesuit and Saint Brendan. At least we were better than Saint Brendan; I didn't even know the school HAD football. But I got pissed off about the Jesuits. Even though it was also an all-boys school, like Columbus (Second best in the district), most of the guys were rich fags.

I was determined to make La Salle's loser-rep change. I hated the look on Jasper and Bella's, but especially Bella's, faces when they laughed at me about beating St. Thomas Aquinas. Normally I wouldn't care about a girl's opinion about me and sports, but I was seriously ticked off by Bella's expression—it felt personal. Part of me was determined to prove her wrong, while the other part just wanted to prove _something_ to her.

Weird, right?

Coach whistled to call us in, and I managed to squeeze the small helmet over my too-big head. I exhaled, and started to jog to the field once more to play the game.

-

-

BPOV

I was huffing and sweating, trying to look natural as I clutched the side of my stomach, which cramped in pain.

At this point, I didn't care if I made it in or not, as long as I escaped this place alive.

We had gone over the completely impossible routine ten times, and each time I had no idea what I was doing. I felt like the biggest loser of life.

"Bella!" Alice had hissed, "Don't look so confused! Just copy everyone else."

My mind zoned back once more to the present as Mrs. Trigo, Mr. Guerra's assistant from hell, pressed the play button once more. I felt a fresh wave of anger course through my body. I wondered if hitting her on the side of the head with my water bottle would prevent her from playing that retched music again.

No, actually, the song was pretty cool. Completely dance-able. I just hated that we had to repeat it again, because the intricate dance moves left me more and more out of breath each time. I crouched down into the starting position as I inhaled all I could. And then we began.

_They came from way far out in outer space_

_She's hard to miss and so they landed on her face._

_She's got cooties! Cooties!_

_They found a place to nest_

_She's got cooties! Cooties!_

_If I were her I'd be depressed_

_Long tailed, sharp nailed, fuzzy legs, laying eggs_

At the "_Oh No!_" part, I had to frantically run across half of the room doing a series of jerky movements along the way. To any regular audience, it would have looked like total chaos. But apparently not in Senor Guerra's big, master plan.

_In science class she's like a walking show-and-tell_

_Her pesto ran away 'cause it couldn't take the smell_

_She's got cooties! Cooties!_

_Nobody wanna sit by her_

_No, don't need a coat, 'cause she's got fur._

_Circle circle, dot dot dot._

_Glad I got my cootie shot!_

By this point in the song I felt my limbs shaking in exhaustion. But I had to keep going on—this was the crazy part. Surprisingly, when I looked in the mirror, my moves looked as strikingly professional as the rest of the experienced dancers.

Which was crazy, because _I just didn't dance_.

_Come on boys, let's stamp em out! _

Leaps, turns, jumps, spinning-- we were doing all sorts of different things. This was the freestyle part that they judged us on. I tried to do the most complicated movements, but I also tried to take up the most space. I thought that once when I whipped my head in the direction of Senor Guerra, I saw him flash a smile.

_She's just as friendly as can be_

_She shows them cootie hospitality_

_She's like a living twilight zone_

"_Uh, can you get Rod Serling on the phone?"_

_Black, white, red, green,_

_Every color in between_

_Dresses like a circus clown_

_Somebody oughta hose her down_

_Grew up in a cootie zoo_

_I bet her two-ton mama's got 'em too_

After we finished the group evaluations of the dance, we were let go on break while the teachers studied the notes on their notepad. I regained my breath as we stepped out into the hallway, almost as if the claustrophobia of the dance room had diassapitated. Which it hadn't, because it was even more crowded in the hallway than the studio. I was just strange in that way.

"My God, are you sure you haven't danced before, Bella?"

"Dance as in routine dance? Never." I replied, shrugging glumly. The girls here had been doing this stuff their entire lives, and I auditioned without even stretching before-hand.

"That's amazing! In a kind of creepy, twisted way. I mean, you were just as good as Angela Webber—and that's basically impossible to accomplish, even for some of the girls in there," she praised, grinning proudly at me. I stifled a smile of embarrassment, the blood pooling up my face to expose a light blush.

When they called us back in, I almost fell down in surprise when they didn't call my number. I was so shocked; I stumbled when they skipped it, thinking that they made some kind of mistake. Then the spark of acknowledgment flooded through me, making me inhale sharply in recognition.

I actually had a chance—a small, but surefire chance—of making it on the dance team. That little detail was enough for my sub-consciousness to question my inner sanity.

When I walked out of the conservatory and began to turn the corner to the parking lot, I felt something _huge_ crash into me, sending me sprawling backwards and almost falling on my face. Luckily, I used one of my palms to grasp the wall of the building. My eyes flitted open as I dared to see what it was that caused me to almost kill myself.

"_Edward_?"

"Holy . . . Bella I'm sorry! I—wow. Are you okay?" he looked like he wanted to say something more, but he managed to bite his tongue.

I took a close look at him. He was drenched, like literally dripping in sweat. It was like he just came out of the shower, only the shower water reeked of perspiration. I made a face.

"I'm fine. No offense, but why are y-- why do you look so, um...?" I hesitated to find the right words, because I didn't want to be rude.

"Nasty? Because. I have a really bad sweating problem." Edward finished for me, and ended up with a cocky grin. I narrowed my eyes at him, wanting the real answer.

"_Really?_"

His eyes flashed with humor. "No, not really. We had football tryouts today, and I was always the one on the bottom of the pile," he said as a matter of factly. I winced.

"So that means you were the one who always intercepted the ball, or the one who got pounded holding the ball?"

"Interception."

"Nice." I complimented.

"So what are you doing here? Dressed like that, I mean."

"Alice didn't tell you? We had dance team auditions. She kind of forced me to do it with her." I rolled my eyes at the last part.

He laughed. "Well, how was it?"

I hesitated. "Okay, I guess. I survived the first cut."

He paused for one second, a peculiar expression crossing his face. But then his lips turned up in an evil smirk. "So if you make it on the team, do you think you can get me some senior hookups?"

I smacked his arm in annoyance. Hard. Then I instantly regretted it, as my hand slowly slid off his arm. He laughed as he watched me eye my palm in disgust. I almost gagged.

"Karma." he cracked up, trying to hold down a laugh but not succeeding. I scowled.

"Edward?"

"Yes?" he sniggered.

"Can you get that pen?"

"What pen?"

"That pen, right on the floor there. Can you get it?"

"Umm... okay."

He bent down to get the "pen" and I smacked him in the face with my dance bag. He jolted up, shock crossing his features.

"What was that for?" he demanded, looking at me wildly.

"Karma." I beamed innocently, and skipped away.

**Aww, I loved the end. I hope you people did too. :]**

**I'm proud of my football section; even my beta said that I sound like I know what I'm talking about!! :D Though is there such a division as Northern Nationals...? *is totally clueless* **

**In case any of you were interested, the song in this chapter is called Cooties by Aimee Allen. It's my song obsession of the moment, and I think you guys should check it out. **

**Review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, I just wrote this chapter this weekend, because I've finally had a break. I've been reading Great Expectations for english, and I haven't had a chance to write since we started. For those of you who have read it, don't you just hate how Charles Dickens rambles on and on about endless garbage? Seriously!**

**This chapter is dedicated to: nbf4eva, Teapot of Karma - , totallyanon, anne kingsmill, ThisIsMyDisguise, and .-OCD. (Thanks for all of you that reviewed! But the rest of you, come on. Seven reviews only? *is very sad*)**

**Well, here you go. :)**

"Bella?" The dashing young man was pacing quietly through the streets and turning the corner, completely unaware of what was going to occur when he reached the end of the alley. I dug my nails into someone's palm unconsciously in desperation.

"Ouch, Bella that hurt!" Rosalie hissed. I stopped clawing at her hand, and fidgeted on the couch.

"S-sorry," I managed to whisper, my eyes fixed hesitantly on the screen. I couldn't watch, but I _had_ to, like some kind of magnetic pull.

I let out a blood-curling scream when the murderer hopped out of the garbage bin, forcing the man in a strangle-hold on his neck. Rosalie and Alice both jumped at my reaction. I covered my eyes as the noise died down. After five seconds, Alice whispered in my ear.

"It's over, Bella." I squinted my eyes carefully as I took in the fuzzy screen. I was confused.

"The entire movie's over." Alice said while rolling her eyes.

"Who died?"

"Edmund," she said. Damn it all. It was the handsome gentleman.

"No!" I wailed, "This movie sucks!" Rosalie patted my arm in comfort. She shared my obsession with hot guys from old-Hollywood movies.

Alice sighed. "Really, the actor is dead anyways. Time to move on."

Rosalie nodded, cooperating with Alice. She let go of me, and I slid off of the couch and onto the floor.

"Agreed." Rose replied. I frowned, and ejected the VCR to put it in its case.

"What do you guys want to do now?" I asked, totally bored. Now that I had moved on from the horrible ending to the movie, I had nothing to do.

"I guess there's always... Ben and Jerry's?" Alice suggested.

Rosalie rolled her eyes. "It's hard to find any of that here. You don't get a lot of those American brand-names when your local grocery store is Sedanos."

"True." I laughed.

"So what then? We should go do something! It's only noon." Alice insisted. I lifted my arm from the seat of the couch, stretching it back to get my blood moving. And to prolong the moment so I didn't have to answer her immediately.

_Love me, hate me,_

_Say what you want about me..._

Rosalie's ringtone caught us off guard. I rolled my eyes and laughed when I recognized Britney belting-out her latest hit.

"Hello?" she answered. A deep—and definitely masculine—voice responded. She replied in little "Ahuh's", and often exposed a light blush that stained her cheeks like pink powder.

"Okay, bu—fine. We'll be there. Bye," she finished, smiling near the end. I raised an eyebrow at the mention of the word "we". Alice gave me a look.

"So?" Alice grinned, pointing to her cell suggestively. Rosalie laughed and played with a strand of her silky blonde hair. She twirled it around just like a model in a Pantene commercial; and she wasn't even aware of it.

"Okay, this is going to sound totally last minute, but Emmett invited us to his house tonight for a party by the pool since his parents are out of town. Are you guys up for it?"

Alice rolled her eyes. I could only guess she was whirling accusations at Emmett for taking advantage of their parents' house while they were away from Miami. Meanwhile, I slightly narrowed my eyes in suspicion at Rose.

"Up for it?" I quoted. Rosalie smiled.

"Well, the definition of _fun_ for us seniors is a bit different than yours. Just saying." she winked. I giggled at the same time that Alice snorted playfully.

"You're talking to us like we're in the seventh grade, not juniors in high school. Are you gonna give us 'The Talk' now? Or are we too young for that too?" Alice snickered.

Rosalie gave Alice the death glare then got up from the couch. She looked at us, and spoke calmly. "Well, are you guys coming or not?"

I stood up and stretched my legs. "Sure, just let me get a bikini."

Alice smirked. "Don't forget to bring a floatie; you don't want to drown."

**-**

**-**

**EPOV**

_The bell rang, and I picked up my books to get to the next class. I took a peek at my schedule, and realized I had science. It was weird how it was right after first period, but it somehow seemed natural to me._

_When I stepped outside, everything in sight was totally deserted. The sky was grey, and the great waters of Key Biscayne were stormy. Silence pierced my eardrums. _

_I paced through the campus, walking in a determined stride towards the grand oak. Normally, Bella would sit under there reading or doing homework or doing whatever she needed to do. I often found it charming whenever I caught her hanging out here._

_But she wasn't there._

_I spun around, trying to spot someone—anyone. I started to panic because I didn't see anyone ANYWHERE. Now I was really starting to freak out._

_So that left my last resort. And that was to go to science._

_I didn't bother to pace anymore. I ran, football stride, to the classroom. When I reached the stairs, I took them two at a time. Then, I swung the door open, not even stopping to collect myself._

_What the hell?_

_There was no one in the room—no surprise—except for a little Belen boy sitting on a lab desk innocently. He must have been only eleven years old or so, because Belen Jesuit went from sixth to twelfth. I hated—well, strongly disliked—the Jesuits, but for some damn God-forsaken reason, I felt protective of this little sixth grader. Maybe it was the way his round green eyes were filled with anxiety and confusion. Or the way his copper hair was naturally disheveled childishly. _

_Then it hit me. Oh crap._

"_Help." he cried out, looking at me with a familiar gaze. I could have been looking in the mirror and had those same exact pair of eyes swimming on the other side._

_I chose to express common logic before deciding to do anything else irrationally. "What are you doing here?" I asked lowly. I had meant to sound menacing but the tremor in my voice was undeniable and broke through my little charade._

"_Who are you? What do you want?" the boy asked sharply, attempting to look tough in return. I sighed—I definitely knew that personality._

"_My name is... Jasper Hale. What's yours?" I lied. I was certain I didn't look anything like a Jasper, and the boy could tell because he narrowed his eyes at me in suspicion._

"_Edward Cullen," he responded, short and tense. I just managed to nod stiffly in agreement. Though on the inside I was about to go insane._

"_So... Edward... what are you doing here?" What I meant to say was, "Why the fuck do you look exactly like me, claim my name, and walk around La Salle when your all-boys faggot school is on the other side of Miami?" But the kid wasn't probably educated that far in curse words, so I decided not to push it._

_The same look of helplessness fell on the kids face, and I couldn't help but feel extremely guilty at the thought._

"_Jasper, you need to help. Help... her…" he whispered painfully, looking at me with agonized eyes. It was as if someone was taking a knife and twisting it around the core of his heart. _

"_I—I'll try," I gulped, clamping a hand on his shoulder in what I meant to be a comforting gesture. _

_Then second we made contact, Edward's emerald eyes went wide, and he let out an ear-splitting screech._

"Bro!" a deep voice complained, and I felt something soft hit my forehead. "Shut up!"

My eyes snapped open and I sat straight on my bed. As soon as I gained consciousness, I glared at Emmett.

"What do you want?" I said acidicly.

"What do I want?" he repeated sarcastically, "I want you to shut your pretty mouth 'cause you scream like a little girl in your sleep."

"Ha. Ha," I spat at him rudely. I felt a shiver of Déjà Vu roll down my spine for some odd reason. Since I couldn't put my finger on where I had heard that phrase before, I just ignored it.

"And," he continued, "You need to get dressed. We're having a little pool party."

"Pool party?" I repeated in confusion.

"Yeah. I mostly invited seniors, but I invited some of your junior friends too—just in case you get bored."

I shrugged. It should be fun. "When does it start?"

"In about... five minutes. Get up." He took the two sets of sheets I had piled up on top of me and took my pillow. My blood boiled.

"Fuck you!" I accused, and pulled back the sheets on top of me, curling up into a ball and trying to hold in the warmth.

Next thing I knew, a mysterious force pushed me by my side, and I fell face-first to the floor. I cussed.

"I freaking hate you, you know that?" I growled.

"I love you more," Emmett chanted in a sing-song voice, ruffling my hair playfully as he pushed me back down to the floor.

**Don't you just love Edward when he's cranky? :D**

**I promise my update will be soon. See, right now, I'm sneaking on the computer, since my room is messy. But the next time I'm able to sneak, which will be sometime this week when I'm alone, the next chapter will be up. **

**Review! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**I would have updated sooner, if I didn't feel so bad today. Stupid flu -_-.**

**But here it is, as promised. Saturday is still part of this same week. :)**

**This chapter is dedicated to last chapters reviewers: anne kingsmill, ThisIsMyDisguise, FRK921, belmo18, nbf4eva, .-OCD, totally anon, Teapot of Karma - , and bcookie. thanks so much for reviewing! :D**

BPOV

As we drove in Rosalie's convertible down the Cullen's lawn, I couldn't help but smile at the sight of the mansion. I first caught view of two fountains, which flourished on the east and west part of the front lawn. I took in the white concrete and gardens, as well as the grand windows of the entrance. The Cullens may have been labeled as gringos in our area, but they definitely weren't noveau rich—which said they knew how to spend their money.

"Oh... God," Rosalie choked, looking totally flustered as she took everything in. I giggled.

"Get used to it Rose. You're one of us now." I smirked. Alice chortled as we slowly pulled in.

I saw Emmett lean against a marble column, beaming as he caught sight of us. I climbed out of the passenger seat, and quietly closed the door while Rose slammed hers. I stiffened. Slamming a car door shut was like kicking a puppy.

"Hey guys!" Emmett grinned, spreading his arms out, waiting for a hug. "I can't believe you came!"

Alice stepped up to him and hugged him tightly. "I know, I can't believe I came back to my own house either."

I laughed while Emmett scowled as he led us inside. The interior looked like it had the potential to be on an episode of _Cribs_, and I wasn't surprised to have discovered that.

"Beautiful." was all that Rosalie managed to gape. I caught Alice rolling her eyes.

"We _are_ in Coco Plum, Rose. So anyways, where's Edward?"

"Shh!" Emmett hissed, taking cover behind a couch. I made this kind of weird noise in my throat in confusion. "We're playing hide-and go seek."

I grinned evilly. "Okay Emmett. We won't tell Edward where you are!" I called loudly, snickering as I heard loud footsteps approaching. Emmett stuck his middle finger at me.

Edward ran in from under an arch leading to another section of the house, and beamed at me. His hair looked like he hadn't combed it in a good two days, but that playful twinkle in his eye made up for it.

"Where is he?" he mouthed. I pointed to the nearest couch, where I knew Emmett was crouched, ready to run for it. Edward smirked and slowly creeped toward where he was hidden. He motioned for me to sit on the couch with him, to act as his cover.

He counted down with his fingers. 3... 2...

He leaned over to where Emmett was hidden, grabbing his shirt collar. Their heads collided. "Son of a bitch!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, in Emmett's ear, causing a loud echo to ring through the house. Emmett toppled over from his crouching position on the floor, yelping in shock and covering his ear. He cussed, and got up slowly.

"Are we finally even?" Edward laughed. Emmett was still trying to recover.

"Whatever…" he mumbled incoherently while massaging his earlobe. I had to put my arms around my stomach to keep myself from falling to the floor. Breaking an arm when playing tackle football? No big deal. Someone screaming in his ear? Ouch.

Alice was getting impatient. "So yeah... the pool?" she asked sourly.

Emmett broke into a grin, his injury left forgotten. "Just out back."

Even though Emmett's expression was totally natural, I instantly felt uncomfortable. I had the feeling someone ... or something... was waiting for me.

-

-

EPOV

I led Bella and Alice around the house to the pool, since Rosalie and Emmett were otherwise occupied. The second I saw Rosalie's face tonight, I discovered that she wasn't very accustomed to our lifestyle. I had a feeling that Emmett discovered that too, because he insisted on showing her around the house. I snorted. What a gentleman.

That was, when he wasn't being a total ass.

As we approached the pool, I heard the sound of loud talking, screaming, and guys horsing around. I suddenly saw Jasper come out from the crowd, greeting me with a smack on the hand. Then he motioned towards Alice, offering her a drink. Alice waltzed over to where Jasper was. I breathed out in a gust; Alice wouldn't shut up about some store she saw on designer district. She was Jaspers problem now.

I turned around to assess Bella properly. I never got a chance to, because of my little show. "Hi." I smirked. She beamed back at me brightly.

"Hey." she responded shortly, not sounding all there. She was fixed on something over my shoulder. I looked at her expression curiously.

"Heeeey Eddie." someone whispered in my ear from behind. My eyebrows furrowed as I turned around, and I moaned inwardly.

"Why do you look so sad to see me?" Jessica giggled, running her hand down my bare arm. Damn Emmett for throwing a pool party.

I saw Bella looking at us with a pissed-off expression, and she began to walk away.

"N-" I started to protest, but I realized there was no point. She was already too far lost in the crowd.

"So, Eddie--"

"Don't call me Eddie."

"Ed?"

"Edward." I growled.

"Okay," she laughed manically and shoved me playfully on the chest. I snorted. "So Edward, I was looking at your house, and was wondering if you could show me your room, you know, just so I can get decorating ideas for my little brother."

"You have a little brother?" I asked suspiciously. I heard she was an only child.

"Well--" she began.

"Bye Jessica." I cleared my throat and ducked my head.

"Okay, just bring the drinks upstairs!" she called, loud enough for everyone to hear. Heads whipped in my direction, and I avoiding going anywhere near the drink table; for obvious reasons. I caught a halo of familiar chocolate hair stick out through the crowd. She was sitting down in her bikini, playing with her flip flops on a pool chaise. I poked her arm, and sat down.

"Hey, I'm sorry. I don't know what that was all about." I said honestly.

She continued staring down at the ground, and strained her smile. "That's okay; I know you have a lot of girlfriends."

My mouth dropped open in shock. "What makes you think that?"

She met my gaze now. "I don't know... I guess that's how all of you are."

"Huh?" I furrowed my eyebrows. Now I was really confused.

She sighed. "Don't act stupid. All you football-star-cocky-athletic types. You're all players, and I guess I shouldn't be surprised. It's okay," she explained, looking down to the ground again. I frowned involuntarily, and massaged the back of my neck.

"No, Bella. Not all of us are like that. You know I'm not."

"Really?" she snorted. Her warming smile retreating back quickly and completely disappeared, taking the angry undertone she expressed before she stalked off. "You don't remember the first day of school, or today day during football tryouts, or even two seconds ago?"

"On the first day, I just wanted to fit in. This morning I was joking with you. Two seconds ago, I completely ignored Jessica." I said firmly. "I'll prove to you I'm not a player."

She scoffed and rolled her eyes before looking at the ground again. I felt my chest tighten and my stomach knot up.

And for some reason, I knew couldn't . . . disappoint her.

"Will you give me a chance?" I murmured, hanging my head down and memorizing patterns on the tiles. I felt her gaze on me.

There was a moment of silence. Then I heard the smile in her voice. "Okay."

I felt myself relax, and I grinned. Then I couldn't help myself; I had to hug her. I mumbled something incoherent like "Great friend" to explain myself. She laughed, and hugged me back.

And I felt like everything was going to be okay, even though I had no idea what was wrong.

Yet.

-

**Ooh, scary. lol.**

**It's funny, remember how I had writers block for like a month before updating chapter 3? Well... I kind of have writers block for my next chapter of my other fanfic, Sweet Dreams. Now that they're together, I kind of have no idea either to start the next chapter with some drama-free BxE-ness or actually start with a little unexpected punch that heats up the plot. For those of you who read Sweet Dreams, i'd like to hear what you want to read. And if you haven't, well, you should. lmfao. **

**Review! (Please? You guys leave pwnsome reviews, and I love reading and responding to them. Plus, you'll get a little dedication in the next chapter! :D)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Wow. I can't believe it's been like . . . seven months? A lot of you probably don't even read my story anymore. If you still do, let me explain. Because not giving an explination would be unthinkable. **

**I had originally written seven chapters of this story ahead of time, because I wanted to make updates shorter, and it made things easier when I didn't have to worry about updates. But anyways, me and my sister got into a huuuuge fight over the summer, and she deleted everything I had on ALL of my files. And not just the SEVEN chapters I had prepared for this story. I mean everything. Song lyrics, the chapters I had written for all my other stories (Sweet Dreams, Summer Of Stars . . . ) , poems, short stories I was set on publishing, :'[**

**Needless to say, I cried, I didn't write anything for months, and I just didn't have any inspiration whatsoever. (I still think my sister should be punished for life, but she was only "grounded" for two weeks. Which doesnt even count, cause she went to friends houses, watched TV.... ughh! I'm still pissed.) I couldn't bring myself to write a word. I've been thinking about giving up on fanfiction, because it was just that much that I had lost. Since school started, I pretty much forgot all my stories.**

**Lately I've picked up reading fanfics again from other authors. And then I've been thinking about my own stories for a while now. But it was just today I read everything over again, and then I realized I wanted to give it another shot. I don't think it's fair that I would just abandon everyone. Because I thought about how sad I would feel if one of my favorite stories got discontinued, and it made me write this authors note.**

**So I'm about to start writing the chapters that I have to publish for all of my stories. But I promise, I'm updating this story first, because I haven't updated in a ridiculously long time. **

**That's all. I hope at least some of you didnt give up on this story. :)**


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